...
By Anna Skinner
Associate News Editor
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
A horse is badly injured and a trailer damaged after it crashed while evacuating the animals away from the rampaging Highland Fire in southern California, and now 150 horses are facing a lack of hay to eat, inspiring a plea for donations and help.
The Highland Fire emerged shortly after noon local time on Monday, expanding from 14 acres to around 1,219 acres by 7:30 p.m. (10:30 p.m. ET) the same day, according to updates from the Riverside County Fire Department. As of Tuesday afternoon, the fire has still not been contained and has since grown to 2,200 acres.
Fire officials ordered the evacuation of areas including Aguanga, as well as rural places to the north. Saddle Up Ranch, a nonprofit horse rescue, was in the middle of the evacuation area, but president Jacqueline Davis told Newsweek that she started evacuating the animals before she knew of the order.
Read More
Santa Ana Wind Maps Show Peak Gust Forecasts5 min read
Does Your Home Have a Fatal Flaw? Alarm Over Rising U.S. Fire Deaths10 min read
Turning the Tide on Wildfires: A Glimpse into Climate Change Mitigation Efforts5 min read
The nonprofit has an evacuation history, and Davis went through similar measures during a wildfire last summer. She rushed to load the horses—some of which were wild—and drive them to safety. Volunteers helped Davis in her effort, and she was one of the last people to leave the ranch. Davis drove a trailer loaded with four horses as she transported them to an evacuation site.
...
While Davis and the horses were driving to the site, people fleeing from the other direction ran the trailer off the road.
"One horse was badly injured, and the trailer needs repairs," she told Newsweek, adding that the horse's leg was swollen, and she was unsure if it was broken until a veterinarian could make it to the evacuation site to evaluate the horse.
The other three horses were uninjured. The trailer's metal fenders were broken, even though Davis wasn't driving fast.
"It was pitch black out," Davis said, adding that evacuating in the middle of the night while also being shrouded in smoke made it difficult to see. "We were going really slow and able to prevent major catastrophe."
Davis said the person who ran the trailer off the road likely wasn't familiar with the roads and was "probably worried about their own animals".
"It was an unfortunate situation," she said.
It wasn't the only roadblock, either. Davis was able to evacuate all of her horses, and they are split between two evacuation sites. However, one of the evacuation sites doesn't have any hay to feed the horses because the delivery couldn't be made due to the road closures in the area.
Davis issued a desperate plea on Facebook asking people to donate funds or to help feed the horses.
"THIS EVAC SITE DOES NOT HAVE HAY! Their shipment could not make it through the road closures. So not only do my horses not have any hay, their horses do not have any hay!" Davis posted on Facebook on Tuesday morning. "That's 150 horses without hay. 30 of mine did not get hay last night and do not have any hay this morning."
Davis also stressed to Newsweek that many people are unaware how expensive evacuating dozens of horses can be. Last year, the ranch went into foreclosure after being unable to recuperate from the financial hardship.
This year, Davis is hoping for a different outcome. The ranch utilized volunteers to help with gas prices and transportation costs while evacuating, but the final cost remains to be seen.
Davis is asking that donations be sent to @SaddleUpRanch on Venmo.
"Even a dollar or one bale of hay helps," Davis wrote in her Facebook post.
The evacuation map for the Highland Fire is growing:
- The first evacuation order was declared for residents south of Sage Road, north of Cottonwood Creek, west of Boulder Vista and east of Becker Lane.
- An update followed at 7:04 p.m. on Monday night ordering people south of Highway 371, west of Soreson and north of County Line Road to evacuate.
- Another evacuation order followed at 8:30 p.m. Monday night for east of Vail Lake Resort, west of Shirley Way, north of David Street and south of Pueblo Rd/Exa Ely Rd.
- On Tuesday morning, a fourth evacuation order was made for areas north of San Diego County Line, south of Highway 79, east of Forest Route 8S07 and west of Crosley Truck Trail.
Evacuation warnings extend even further, alerting residents that an order may soon be implemented.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines